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Leucothoe fontanesiana
Also called Dog Hobble, Fetter Bush, Fetterbush, Switch Ivy, Mountain Doghobble
An evergreen shrub from the southeastern US, growing 1–2 m tall with glossy, laurel-like leaves and urn-shaped flowers in spring. It needs shade and acidic soil to do well.
Leucothoe fontanesiana, also known as the highland doghobble, fetter-bush, mountain doghobble or switch ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to the southeastern United States. It is an erect evergreen shrub growing to 1–2 m (3–7 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) broad, with laurel-like glossy leaves 6–16 cm (2–6 in) long, and pendent axillary racemes of urn-shaped flowers in spring.
This plant is a calcifuge and requires a shaded position in acid soil. The cultivar 'Rollissonii' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leucothoe fontanesiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
